Home Is Where The Heart Is
by Akia Korohan
Summary: After a mission with the blonde ninja, Genma's feelings for Naruto begin to run deeper than he ever expected.
1. Chapter 1

The two years were up, the two years of freedom. Now the free bird must return to it's cage once more; once more to sing for the reputation of the village.

The gates loomed high above him as he neared his home, his steps slow and pained, his gait injured. He stops and just looks up at the massive gates. Both are open and the sun is shining on the shimmering paint of the symbols on the wood. He'd been here nearly every time to watch them be repainted, except for his two and a half year training gap, and his most recent 2 year escapade to Sound. Slender fingers curled around a scroll in his pocket and he continued toward the gates.

A hand raised in greeting as he passed Izumo and Kotetsu on the gate. He didn't know them by name, but he knew them well enough to know they would appreciate the gesture. He almost laughed when he saw Izumo slumped across the desk, drooling slightly on the polished wood. Kotetsu was leaning on his hand, almost drifting into the realms of sleep himself. When he saw Naruto, his eyes snapped open fully, and he lifted his hand to wave back, only to fall into the desk when he raised the hand he was leaning on.

His hands formed the familiar signs as soon as he was out of sight of the prying eyes of the villagers, shinobi and civilian alike. With a silent poof, he vanished from sight, only to appear seconds later, in front of the Godaime's desk. He flicked his pony tail over his shoulder from where it had come to rest across his front and handed Tsunade the scroll from one of the many pockets in his black pants.

"What's thi-" She sneezed violently into a tissue before continuing. "What's this? And are you not cold?"

"It is the blueprints of the Akatsuki main base, and no. The Kyuubi keeps me warm, even in autumn." He smirked at Tsunade's grumble of complaint and slid a finger through one of the lower holes in his mesh shirt.

"Akatsu- Where have you been? Please don't say you went after Akatsuki!" She leapt to her feet, dropping the scroll onto the table and ran around the desk to run a diagnostic jutsu on the blue eyed teen. It came out clear. He had no injuries of any sort.

"I did not set out intending to go after Akatsuki. I set out intending to go after Sasuke."

Tsunade sat down again. "If I'd know that I'd have never let you go."

"That was why I did not say where I was headed." His head drooped slightly and his eyes dropped to the floor. "I failed to bring back Sasuke. He killed the snake, yet refused to come home. He said he was bound to follow his destiny and kill his brother before he could consider any place home, before he could be bound by oaths to a village."

*********************************************

The lake always calmed him somewhat. He wondered if he had relations in a water-based country somewhere. The backdrop of trees left a shadow across the lake, the occasional beam of orange light slipping through as the sun set slowly from sight. He'd failed yet again. He reached back and pulled the tie from his hair, letting it fall down over his shoulders in a cascade of golden silk. The bangs which hid his eyes from sight concealed the tears which prickled at the edges of his vision.

"How can I ever hope to become hokage, when I can't even save my best friend?"

Saying it aloud made it all the more real, all the more believable. A single tear escaped his eye and ran down the whiskered cheek, dripping off his chin and disappearing into the dark material of his pants.

A hand landed on his shoulder and he cursed himself for not sensing the person. He glanced up and saw the last rays of sunlight glance off the senbon in the man's mouth.

Genma took his hand off Naruto and sat down on the dry bank next to him. They stared out over the lake in the semi darkness together for a while before Naruto finally spoke.

"I promised Sakura I'd bring him back. That was seven years ago. Since then I've spent four and a half years away from the village training, and when I go to bring him back, I find he's killed Orochimaru and is going after his brother again. What sort of aspiring hokage can't even save his own best friend? Hell, what sort of ninja is still a genin at 19?"

"One who hasn't yet had the chance to take the exam. You have only been in the village for a year and a half since the disaster of an exam you competed in. If I remember, Sakura took the exam with the remainder of Asuma's team while you and Sasuke were absent. If the exam didn't have to be taken in teams of three, you would be a chuunin by now. Probably a jounin."

Naruto smiled slightly under his bangs and wiped away the tears. This man may not know him very well, but he knew exactly what to say to him.

"Come on, I'll buy you ramen." 


	2. Chapter 2

"Go 'way."

He rolled over and pulled the thin sheet over his head, content in his little bubble of heat.

There was another knock, this one louder and accompanied by a voice. "Naruto, if you don't get out here, I'll come in there and get you."

He groaned again and burrowed further under the covers, trying to escape the familiar voice. He heard the poof of a ninja appearing and peeped out under the duvet. He could see the standard issue shinobi pants and the bottom of a jounin vest. The figure crouched down and he came face to face with the senbon sucking jounin he had eaten with last night. The brown-haired man grinned evilly and the next thing Naruto knew was lying in a soaking wet freezing cold bed.

"GAH!" He screamed, leaping off the mattress. "You fuck, that's not funny!" He glared at Genma who was laughing so much he was holding onto the door frame for support. He stomped into the bathroom, trailing cold water behind him as he did. As he got into the shower, he yelled over the sound of the water; "Did you come here just to get me out of bed, or was there something you wanted?"

"Mission." Came the chocked reply, followed by another fit of laughter.

"What the fuck has he been smoking?" Naruto muttered into the stream of water which fell onto his head.

10 minutes later Naruto made it out of the shower, clean, dry and glaring at Genma who was trying to think of a way to dry his bed off without setting the whole apartment alight.

"So what's this mission?"

"C-rank. You and me are going to take some scrolls to Wave country. I thought you might not want to be in the village for long amounts of time seeing as you've only just got back."

Naruto nodded. He really didn't want to spend a lot of time in the village at the moment. So far he'd managed to avoid running into anyone he knew, and he could really do with some time away from the whole 'jump out of sight if there's anyone I know' thing. He wondered what Tsunade was doing with the blueprints he found for her.

"You want anything to eat?"

Naruto was about to reply but his stomach beat him to it, growling loudly in the silence Genma left. The other man laughed and walked out of the door, heading towards the blonde's kitchen. Naruto watched the brunette go and followed him quickly, wondering if there was anything edible in his kitchen.

"Naruto, there's no food in here!"

"Well, I have been away for 2 years, I haven't really got round to shopping yet." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and grinned at the jounin.

Genma sighed. "I haven't had anything yet either. I was hoping to scrounge something off you but it looks like that's not to be. Ah well, we'll just have to eat out. Anywhere in particular?"

"ICHIRAKU!!" Naruto leapt in the air yelling out the name of his favorite restaurant.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat anything more healthy than ramen?"

Naruto shook his head wildly. He didn't care if he was acting childishly, he wasn't going to pass up the chance to get free ramen. "Ano, I haven't got any money..."

Genma smiled, flicking the senbon around his mouth. "Don't worry, I'll buy you breakfast. Ichiraku it would appear to be then." He closed the cupboard he had previously been looking into and turned back to Naruto. "You want to go pack your stuff. We'll be away for about a week. It's not urgent so we don't really need to run. I need a vacation anyway." He grinned around the metal stick and pushed Naruto towards his bedroom. "Don't worry about food. We'll be going through the forest the entire way there so there's going to be plenty to eat. If we really starve we've got some ration bars." He made a nasty face that Naruto laughed at before running off to pack.

*******************************

Naruto stretched and lay down on the cool ground next to the smoldering fire Genma was trying to light. He laughed as it went out and the older man cursed colorfully. "Perhaps you should just give up."

"You have a go then." Genma waved his arm at the smoking pile of twigs.

"Nah, I'm no good with fire jutsus. They never work." He put his hands behind his head and lent back on them, staring up at the starry sky through a gap in the tree branches over him. He heard Genma striking flints against one another and blowing at the twigs before he heard a click. He rolled over and raised an eyebrow at the lighter in the brunette's hand.

"So what? It's cheating but no one's gonna know are they?"

A few minutes later the fire was crackling merrily and Genma was whistling out of tune as he cooked the fish they had caught at a stream a few miles back. The smell of cooking fish made him realize how hungry he was and his stomach growled noisily in the almost silence of twilight. He blushed and put his hands over the emptiness of his abdomen.

Genma laughed and went back to the fish. "Don't worry. I've heard stomachs far louder than yours."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh with him and soon the pair were leaning against the trees surrounding them to hold themselves upright, both trying hard to remember what they were laughing at. 


	3. Chapter 3

The sun rose over the tired pair, snoozing silently in their makeshift camp between the trees. Naruto groaned sleepily as the morning light shone straight onto his face, his eyelids fluttering as he was slowly pulled out of his mediative state. His stomach growled loudly as he rolled over, feeling for his bag he knew was somewhere at hand. When he didn't find it with his blind gropes, he opened his eyes and found himself staring into the dark eyes of a small red-orange fox, it's jaws clamped shut around the straps of his backpack.

"Oi!" He yelled, jumping to his feet and almost falling flat on his face as his feet caught in his sleeping bag. The fox dropped his bag and shot off into the forest. He walked over to the dropped pack and dragged it back to his sleeping bag pulling out a clean black mesh shirt from it. He heard a rustle behind him and looked up to see Genma, still half asleep, but waking up quickly, with a kunai in his hand and several senbon spread between the fingers of his other.

Genma blinked, stared down at the young man wrestling with his shirt and fought down the urge to laugh. He failed and pocketed the kunai Naruto threw at him, telling him to "Shut the fuck up!"

"You must sleep like a log if you don't notice an animal sneaking off with your bag!" He ignored Naruto's growl and slid one of the senbon he was holding into his mouth. Still grinning he set off to find breakfast.

*******************************

"You didn't mention being ambushed in the mission description!" Naruto yelled, twirling around to stab a black-clad nin in the stomach.

Genma laughed and kicked a nin across the clearing. He pretended not to hear Naruto's rather animalistic growl even though he was sure the enemy could hear it from the other side of the forest where they had fled to. A massive sparkling water dragon soared past him and imploded in a shower of deadly sharpened ice. He turned back to Naruto and raised an eyebrow.

"Nice."

Naruto's stomach growled in response.

"I quite agree with you. C'mon, let's find something other than ration bars. They make me constipated."

Had he looked back, he would have seen the disgusted expression Naruto was making at him. He did, however, hear the yell that followed.

"Too much information retard!"

****************************

Genma rolled his eyes as he watched Naruto stare intently at the tin of boiling water on the fire. It had only been on there a minute yet the look on Naruto's face said it had been there for eternity. Eventually it boiled and he thought about stealing it for his tea just to spite the boy, but the look on Naruto's face stopped him. How was it possible, he wondered, to become so excited by ramen? He looked down at the duck he was currently heating up in a slightly cooler part of the fire and decided that Naruto just wasn't possible.

"Ne, ne, you just going to eat duck?"

Genma looked up. "No, I've got sauce for it." he held up a pot of lemon sauce and laughed when Naruto stuck out his tongue in disgust. "You don't like lemon sauce?"

"I don't like lemon sauce or duck."

"You don't like anything but ramen though." He pointed out as Naruto pulled the top completely off his cup ramen.

Naruto glared at his companion and stirred his noodles vigorously, separating them quickly and sloshing the soup around.

"You're still an gennin aren't you."

Naruto looked up suddenly, his eyes questioning and noodles hanging out of his mouth. He sucked them back in quickly and swallowed, nodding. "Why do you want to know that?"

"Just wondering. You were impressive in the chuunin exams. I'd heard stories about you from all the other jounin but that was the first time I'd ever seen you fighting." He pulled the duck strips off the fire and dropped them into the shallow pot of sauce. He reached into his bag and pulled out a pair of black chopsticks with the kanji for forgiveness etched in gold down the side of each of them. "I'd say you're above chuunin level personally seeing you fight back there. Itatakimasu."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "You think so?" 


	4. Chapter 4

The journey back was uneventful and peaceful. In Genma's case, it was mind numbingly boring. Naruto was deep in thought all the way home following their conversation last night so the brunette left him to it. He could only hope the kid wasn't speaking to Kyuubi as he feared.

Naruto had spoken briefly to the Kyuubi no kitsune, but it had been last night and he'd got nothing from the demon. Now he was silently brooding. Inside he was seething. How dare the Yondaime take away his name. He was mentally backtracking as far as he could go to see if anyone had ever called him anything over than Uzumaki Naruto.

The gates loomed high above them and Naruto walked straight through them without so much as blinking. Genma followed him, waving to Kotetsu and Izumo sitting in the wooden hut. Both waved back frantically. He grinned, remembering how much the pair had used to complain every time they got gate duty. It was about as boring as this mission. At least you could talk to whoever you were with in that breezy hut.

They reached the hokage tower together and Genma handed over the report he'd written on watch last night.

"I would appreciate if you gave scrolls to the correct people. Naruto, go give that to Iruka would you?"

They both watched as Naruto perked up at the thought of seeing the chuunin again. He ran out of the room, his previous worries temporarily forgotten and a massive smile on his face. After all, he hadn't seen Iruka for several years.

"You look like you want to say something." Tsunade stared knowingly at the senbon user.

"I think Naruto needs promoting. I saw him fighting rogue ninja and I think he's above chuunin level. He also thinks he has family somewhere in a water based village, which I think could very well be true after seeing him fight. His water jutsus are amazingly powerful.

"Hm. That's interesting, I'll look into it. Meanwhile I agree that Naruto is due his promotion. He was probably due it years ago." She laughed softly.

"Did you need me for anything?" Both looked up to see Naruto standing in the doorway.

Tsunade looked down at the scroll on her desk and started to dismiss him before she stopped. "Yes. Can you take this scroll to Rock. It's about the upcoming chuunin exams so it needs to get there quickly."

Naruto nodded, took the scroll she handed him and vanished, leaving nothing behind him.

"I think I can safely say he'll get promoted. After all, he broke into Akatsuki's base and came back safely with their blueprints." She smiled fondly at the spot the blonde had been and Genma found himself smiling with her.

****************************

"What took you so long?"

Genma stuck his head round the door frame into the kitchen and saw Raidou cleaning the hob. The scent of disinfectant hung heavily in the air. "I had to report back to the Hokage and we ended up talking about all the stupidly reckless things Naruto's done and got away with."

Raidou just shook his head and turned back to cleaning. "There's some chicken in the fridge."

Genma pulled the plate from the fridge and waled away from the overpowering scent of cleaning fluids. Instead, he took refuge in his bedroom, locking himself and his food in. He settled down to eat and found himself thinking about Naruto again, about how the man moved when fighting. It was like he was one of his own water jutsus, graceful and flowing. The cheshire grin came to the forefront of his mind and he found himself smiling through his mouthful of chicken.

**************************

He groaned and rolled over, glancing at the alarm clock on his way past. 3 in the morning. Why'd that bastard have to go on a mission at 3 in the fucking morning? He was having such a nice dream as well, his cock was a testament to that. He tried to conjure up an image of who he had been dreaming about, but it just wouldn't come. Instead he saw glimpses of golden hair and sparkling blue eyes. His sleep muddled brain made no sense of them but at the thought of those eyes his cock hardened further, tenting the thin blanket he lay under. Without a second thought he ran a hand down his body to grasp at his erection and tugged at it a couple of times. He stifled a groan as he felt tension coil in his stomach.

His hand began to move faster and soon it was flying up and down, surrounding his aching organ the tension coiling tighter and tighter as he went. Blonde hair and blue eyes was back in his mind. Lightly tanned skin and whiskered cheeks. Strong hands and slender build, slightly muscled and a perfectly flat stomach.

He moaned louder, the friction on his cock slightly painful but he couldn't stop now, not until - The tension snapped and he came, a loud groan of relief and a name he didn't remember escaping his lips.

"Naruto!" 


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, Genma! Mission!" He threw the scroll at the other man's head, laughing when it hit him in the face. "Come on, we're leaving soon."

"I don't want to go to Rock."

"Huh?"

The pair stared at each other for a few seconds. Genma's face serious and Raidou's almost comically confused.

"I thought you wanted to get away from here, y'know, not to be here when..." He trailed off at the look Genma was giving him.

"I don't want to be here, but I don't want to go where he never returned from."

"Genma! That was two years ago! He's probably found someone powerful to train him. I doubt it very highly if he's even in Rock anymore."

There was a pause and an uncomfortable silence filled the room before Genma turned his head away and spoke to the wall rather than his friend.

"Raidou, he's send no message to Tsunade. Nothing. No one knows where he is. Even she's giving up hope. They're getting ready to carve his name onto the stone if he doesn't turn up soon."

Raidou opened his mouth, then shut it again, unable to think of anything to console his friend. Eventually he opened it again, speaking to Genma who was still staring resolutely at the wall. "We're not even going into Rock, Genma, we're meeting the clients by the gate. You won't have to set foot there."

There was another, even longer uncomfortable silence before Genma stood up and picked up the bag next to him, swinging it over his shoulder. "Let's go then, I see no way to get out of this. After all, I was the one who requested something away from the village

*  
"Come on Genma!" Raidou turned to see his friend several meters behind him, ambling along like he had nothing better to do than watch the dark raincloud heading their way faster than either man could run.

"Do you want to get wet? Because if you do, you're certainly going to right way about it!" He stopped and let Genma catch up, resisting the urge to smack the other man around the head. The mission had been a nightmare as of late. Three days it was supposed to take them. Three days to Rock. It was nearing the end of their second day and they weren't even halfway there yet. He'd earlier sent out a raven summon with a message to their client saying they would be a little late, but he was wondering now if they were ever going to get there.

Ever since leaving Konoha, Genma had been getting slower and slower, moving like he was going to his death. Raidou sighed and gave up trying to chivvy the brunette along. He knew the man didn't want to go to Rock, knew he shouldn't be forcing him to go, but deep inside,he knew that going to Rock would help Genma face his demons. Even if they took the form of the blonde ninja's dead body.

Naruto.

He wished he'd never found out how deeply the man felt for him. It made his own heart ache to think of what his friend must be going through. His best friend that he was making feel this way. For a second he stopped and his eyes began to sting, the tears welling up despite the dry air.

"Hey, Raidou wha-"

His question was cut off by a loud rumble of thunder, followed by a sudden fork of lightning, illuminating the barren land. Then the rain came, fast, without warning, great sheets of water cascading down over them, soaking their clothes and skin without mercy. He saw Raidou's mouth move, but the sudden gust of wind blew his words away as though they were dead leaves. He understood. They needed shelter for the night, but out in the empty planes, there was nothing in sight that might be of help to them.

Their gazes met for a second and the unspoken message passed easily between them; run for it.

They did so, at top speed across the barren landscape, chakra enhancing the rate at which they went. Rocks blurred past them as they went, small animals fled their path and the rain came down. The buckets of water being upended over their heads made it nigh impossible to see more than a few meters in front of them, so it was quite understandable when Genma ran into his unmoving friend.

He flicked the wet bangs out of his eyes and looked up. Had it been clear, it would have been impossible to miss the huge cliff face they stood before. It towered high above their heads, vertical and pocketed with alcoves and small ledges

"There."

Genma followed his friend's hand. A few feet above their heads was a small opening which looked as though it may open into a cave. A dry cave.

Without the use of chakra, they began to climb the sheer face, slipping on the wet stones and flat planes of rock. The rain continued to come down in torrents, getting heavier as the wind picked up and threatened to blow them off the cliff.

Drenched, wind-blown and chakra depleted, they stumbled into the small cave. It was circular and just high enough that they could stand up.

"Ugh! Someone really needs to create a waterproofing jutsu." Genma upturned his bag on the ground, shaking out the contents into a puddle he was creating by simply standing there.

"Be thankful that food comes in plastic wrappers. Although I wish sleeping bags did as well now." Raidou yawned, upturning his own bag into his puddle.

Genma yawned as well, imitating his friend. The senbon fell from his mouth but he made no motion to catch it. "I vote we strip down and sleep."

Raidou nodded and reached for the zipper on his jacket. Both were asleep before any clothing was shed.

**************************

There was a half sneeze, followed by a choked yelp as Genma discovered why it was not sensible to sneeze whilst your teeth are chattering.

"Genma?"

"It's nothing. Bit my tongue is all."

Raidou opened his mouth to reply but then sneezed as well. "The storm sounds like it's died down."

"We should get up then. We're already late as it is." Dark brown eyes slid open and surveyed the surroundings, expecting to see the circular cave with the morning sunlight illuminating the short tunnel. There was no circular cave, no tunnel, and certainly no sunlight. The only light source was the burning torches in the wall brackets behind the iron grate. Iron grate...? Iron grate?!?

"Raidou!" He shook his friend roughly. "Raidou! Get up now! We're in deep shit!"

Raidou's dark eyes were instantly open and in a second he was sitting next to his friend, staring at the restraining metal before them. "Do we have any of our stuff?"

Genma shook his head after looking around briefly. Their flack jackets had been taken as well, leaving them in their standard issue navy pants and shirts. "Nothing. They probably left everything in the cave."

"Unless they thought there was anything useful in it." Raidou sank back against the wall. "D'you think we'll get out of here alive?"

Genma shrugged. He'd never been in their current position before, or even anything akin to it and he knew Raidou hadn't either.

A long silence followed, leaving both men to their own, increasingly morbid thoughts.

**********************

A door slammed open and Genma almost jumped. The only thing that stopped him was the fact he had no energy to do so. The metal grate was flung open and an unconscious blonde dragged in and deposited in a corner of the cell.

"Feed them. We can't have them dying. We'll need those two alive for interrogation. Konoha's evidently caught on."

The grate slammed shut and bowls of rice and cups of water were left within reaching distance of the three men.

Genma reached for his own but then poked Raidou awake to eat his. He contemplated rousing the young man on the other side of the room, but he had a feeling he wasn't asleep, but unconscious if the way he was dragged in was anything to go by. Instead he picked up his own rice and began to shovel it into his mouth, using his fingers. He felt a momentary pang of sadness at the loss of his chopsticks, but pushed it away and went back to his rice. Although bland, it was filling and by the time he and Raidou had finished, the blonde was coming round.

He groaned and rolled over, reaching for the rice he could smell and see but not touch. He waved his hand at the bowl and tried to get it to come towards him. Eventually he pushed himself onto his hands and knees and crawled towards the food.

Genma tried to make it less obvious that he was staring but failed miserably. The whisker marks on the man's cheeks made him think it was Naruto, and for a split second he was about to call out to him. Had it not been for the ears and nine long, red tails around him, he would have. He watched as he wolfed down the rice and water like a starving man and then collapsed back into a heap on the ground.

"Naruto?" He couldn't help it, he had to know if it was him. He held his breath as the boy turned his head, blue eyes locking onto hazel.

"Hey Genma." 


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, Genma! Mission!" He threw the scroll at the other man's head, laughing when it hit him in the face. "Come on, we're leaving soon."

"I don't want to go to Rock."

"Huh?"

The pair stared at each other for a few seconds. Genma's face serious and Raidou's almost comically confused.

"I thought you wanted to get away from here, y'know, not to be here when..." He trailed off at the look Genma was giving him.

"I don't want to be here, but I don't want to go where he never returned from."

"Genma! That was two years ago! He's probably found someone powerful to train him. I doubt it very highly if he's even in Rock anymore."

There was a pause and an uncomfortable silence filled the room before Genma turned his head away and spoke to the wall rather than his friend.

"Raidou, he's send no message to Tsunade. Nothing. No one knows where he is. Even she's giving up hope. They're getting ready to carve his name onto the stone if he doesn't turn up soon."

Raidou opened his mouth, then shut it again, unable to think of anything to console his friend. Eventually he opened it again, speaking to Genma who was still staring resolutely at the wall. "We're not even going into Rock, Genma, we're meeting the clients by the gate. You won't have to set foot there."

There was another, even longer uncomfortable silence before Genma stood up and picked up the bag next to him, swinging it over his shoulder. "Let's go then, I see no way to get out of this. After all, I was the one who requested something away from the village

*  
"Come on Genma!" Raidou turned to see his friend several meters behind him, ambling along like he had nothing better to do than watch the dark raincloud heading their way faster than either man could run.

"Do you want to get wet? Because if you do, you're certainly going to right way about it!" He stopped and let Genma catch up, resisting the urge to smack the other man around the head. The mission had been a nightmare as of late. Three days it was supposed to take them. Three days to Rock. It was nearing the end of their second day and they weren't even halfway there yet. He'd earlier sent out a raven summon with a message to their client saying they would be a little late, but he was wondering now if they were ever going to get there.

Ever since leaving Konoha, Genma had been getting slower and slower, moving like he was going to his death. Raidou sighed and gave up trying to chivvy the brunette along. He knew the man didn't want to go to Rock, knew he shouldn't be forcing him to go, but deep inside,he knew that going to Rock would help Genma face his demons. Even if they took the form of the blonde ninja's dead body.

Naruto.

He wished he'd never found out how deeply the man felt for him. It made his own heart ache to think of what his friend must be going through. His best friend that he was making feel this way. For a second he stopped and his eyes began to sting, the tears welling up despite the dry air.

"Hey, Raidou wha-"

His question was cut off by a loud rumble of thunder, followed by a sudden fork of lightning, illuminating the barren land. Then the rain came, fast, without warning, great sheets of water cascading down over them, soaking their clothes and skin without mercy. He saw Raidou's mouth move, but the sudden gust of wind blew his words away as though they were dead leaves. He understood. They needed shelter for the night, but out in the empty planes, there was nothing in sight that might be of help to them.

Their gazes met for a second and the unspoken message passed easily between them; run for it.

They did so, at top speed across the barren landscape, chakra enhancing the rate at which they went. Rocks blurred past them as they went, small animals fled their path and the rain came down. The buckets of water being upended over their heads made it nigh impossible to see more than a few meters in front of them, so it was quite understandable when Genma ran into his unmoving friend.

He flicked the wet bangs out of his eyes and looked up. Had it been clear, it would have been impossible to miss the huge cliff face they stood before. It towered high above their heads, vertical and pocketed with alcoves and small ledges

"There."

Genma followed his friend's hand. A few feet above their heads was a small opening which looked as though it may open into a cave. A dry cave.

Without the use of chakra, they began to climb the sheer face, slipping on the wet stones and flat planes of rock. The rain continued to come down in torrents, getting heavier as the wind picked up and threatened to blow them off the cliff.

Drenched, wind-blown and chakra depleted, they stumbled into the small cave. It was circular and just high enough that they could stand up.

"Ugh! Someone really needs to create a waterproofing jutsu." Genma upturned his bag on the ground, shaking out the contents into a puddle he was creating by simply standing there.

"Be thankful that food comes in plastic wrappers. Although I wish sleeping bags did as well now." Raidou yawned, upturning his own bag into his puddle.

Genma yawned as well, imitating his friend. The senbon fell from his mouth but he made no motion to catch it. "I vote we strip down and sleep."

Raidou nodded and reached for the zipper on his jacket. Both were asleep before any clothing was shed.

**************************

There was a half sneeze, followed by a choked yelp as Genma discovered why it was not sensible to sneeze whilst your teeth are chattering.

"Genma?"

"It's nothing. Bit my tongue is all."

Raidou opened his mouth to reply but then sneezed as well. "The storm sounds like it's died down."

"We should get up then. We're already late as it is." Dark brown eyes slid open and surveyed the surroundings, expecting to see the circular cave with the morning sunlight illuminating the short tunnel. There was no circular cave, no tunnel, and certainly no sunlight. The only light source was the burning torches in the wall brackets behind the iron grate. Iron grate...? Iron grate?!?

"Raidou!" He shook his friend roughly. "Raidou! Get up now! We're in deep shit!"

Raidou's dark eyes were instantly open and in a second he was sitting next to his friend, staring at the restraining metal before them. "Do we have any of our stuff?"

Genma shook his head after looking around briefly. Their flack jackets had been taken as well, leaving them in their standard issue navy pants and shirts. "Nothing. They probably left everything in the cave."

"Unless they thought there was anything useful in it." Raidou sank back against the wall. "D'you think we'll get out of here alive?"

Genma shrugged. He'd never been in their current position before, or even anything akin to it and he knew Raidou hadn't either.

A long silence followed, leaving both men to their own, increasingly morbid thoughts.

**********************

A door slammed open and Genma almost jumped. The only thing that stopped him was the fact he had no energy to do so. The metal grate was flung open and an unconscious blonde dragged in and deposited in a corner of the cell.

"Feed them. We can't have them dying. We'll need those two alive for interrogation. Konoha's evidently caught on."

The grate slammed shut and bowls of rice and cups of water were left within reaching distance of the three men.

Genma reached for his own but then poked Raidou awake to eat his. He contemplated rousing the young man on the other side of the room, but he had a feeling he wasn't asleep, but unconscious if the way he was dragged in was anything to go by. Instead he picked up his own rice and began to shovel it into his mouth, using his fingers. He felt a momentary pang of sadness at the loss of his chopsticks, but pushed it away and went back to his rice. Although bland, it was filling and by the time he and Raidou had finished, the blonde was coming round.

He groaned and rolled over, reaching for the rice he could smell and see but not touch. He waved his hand at the bowl and tried to get it to come towards him. Eventually he pushed himself onto his hands and knees and crawled towards the food.

Genma tried to make it less obvious that he was staring but failed miserably. The whisker marks on the man's cheeks made him think it was Naruto, and for a split second he was about to call out to him. Had it not been for the ears and nine long, red tails around him, he would have. He watched as he wolfed down the rice and water like a starving man and then collapsed back into a heap on the ground.

"Naruto?" He couldn't help it, he had to know if it was him. He held his breath as the boy turned his head, blue eyes locking onto hazel.

"Hey Genma." 


	7. Chapter 7

"It's not him! He's being controlled by it!"

"No he's not! Didn't you listen to a thing he said?"

Naruto cried out softly in his sleep and they turned sharply, Raidou's mouth open to respond. He continued in a low voice when it became apparent that the blonde was not waking up any time soon.

"Open your eyes Genma! He's the Kyuubi in human form. He's not the boy you knew!"

"Raidou! There is no Kyuubi, don't you remember anything?"

/"Don't worry Namiashi-san. I'm not the Kyuubi."

"But-"

"There is no Kyuubi any more."

"No... No Kyuubi? How?"

"We were forced to merge." He stopped pacing and his ears drooped slightly. "I've been here for coming on two years now. I don't know precisely how long it has been, I only know that since I have been here I have seen two winters pass."

"They let you out?"

Naruto turned to Genma and sank down onto the floor in front of him. "They didn't let me out. They'll never let me out until they control me completely. No. I can taste the weather in the water." At Genma's shocked look he laughed. "Kyuubi was several thousand years old and a spirit of the earth. He wasn't always a demon and he passed on more to me than just physical features."

"Where are we?"

Naruto shot Raidou a sharp look which caused the older man to inch backwards slightly. "I don't know. I presume we are somewhere near to Rock." He sighed slightly. "The last think I remember seeing was the gates into the village. After that it's all black."

Silence reigned for a second before Genma's eyes flickered back to the tails again. "What do you mean by you were forced to merge?

Naruto turned his head away, breaking the eye contact with the older man. "These people have the same goal as Akatsuki. However, Akatsuki have all the nine demons save the Kyuubi. They want the Kyuubi, our captors want the other eight. The experiments they performed forced the connection between us open. When they realized the seal was breaking they panicked. I don't know what they did, I wasn't concious for most of it, I just remember blinding pain. I was out for three months apparently."

"So you're not Kyuubi, or Naruto?" Raidou chipped in, still sitting several feet away from the pair as if he were afraid of the blonde.

"No. I'm still Naruto, just with a few fox features and more knowledge. It's like the Kyuubi's still there, but not there physically, if that makes any sense."

He didn't really understand, but he nodded anyway./

The blonde stirred again. He rolled over and let out a high pitched whimper, clawing at the ground.

"Naruto?"

Raidou watched as his friend walked over to the other man and shook him awake.

He caught the clawed fist aimed for his throat and lay a hand on the smaller man's head, in a gesture he somehow instinctively knew would soothe the kitsune. He couldn't help but smile when the red slowly bled into blue and the familiar sparkling eye stared back at him

Naruto had been getting more and more restless as of late, his energy levels had been rising and he hadn't been let out of the cell since they had arrived. He hadn't been sleeping properly either, moving and twitching all through the night.

"When do they bring food?"

Naruto and Genma turned around sharply to see Raidou sitting by the grate, a serious look on his face.

"Um, dunno. Why? You hungry?"

"What were you thinking? We could escape when they feed us?"

Raidou nodded. He looked pointedly at Naruto. "His pent up energy would be very useful if he could use it to overpower the guards."

Naruto's eyes widened. "There's only ever one at a time."

"Can you use chakra?"

Naruto shook his head sadly. "The bars drain it I tried the first time I came here. As soon as you start to mold it into anything it's drained straight out of you."

The three men were silent for a few moment before Genma was suddenly struck with an idea.

"What happens if you don't mold it? Just let it out?" He resisted the urge to kiss the younger man when he looked up, blue eyes glittering.

"I don't know. I've never tried it. Not since we merged anyway."

"Try it."

With a suspicious look and cautious movements, he stood and carefully let out a tiny amount of chakra, letting it swirl around him. To his surprise it wasn't snatched from him, but pulled from deep within him and swarmed around him, encasing him in a sphere of crimson. He was reminded of when he used to go through the Kyuubi transformations and, fearing for the lives of his comrades, he tried to reign it in. When nothing happened he tried again, panic welling up inside him as the demonic chakra swamped him, tearing through his pathways. Something inside him broke and he heard himself scream, the sound hoarse and broken. He watched with horror as his body moved without his consent made for the gate holding them in the cell. It never stood a chance. A flare of chakra into the bars and they melted.

Genma's mouth was still hanging open when Naruto collapsed into the pool of solidifying metal. He lurched forward and dragged him away from the mess, cleaning off the liquidy-sold as he did so. "I suppose that answers that question then." he said with a slightly nervous laugh. Less than a second later a siren sounded throughout the cells.

"C'mon." Raidou held out his hand to the other jounin. "Let's get outta here."

***********************************************************************

"Look!"

"What now?" He turned, exhausted to his suddenly hyperactive partner.

"Look at this! Recognize the symbol?" He held up the bag for his friend to look at, making sure the stylized leaf was visible.

"Konoha," he spat.

*********************************************************************

"Dammit! Another dead end!"

The pair of them spun around and ran back up the tunnel until they reached the cross-road maze junction. "Which way?" Genma whispered.

"Well we came down the middle one, so left or right?"

"Right."

Both men looked sharply at the blonde who had just awoken.

"I can smell the outside air."

*********************************************************************

"There! Yes! Finally!"

The three men ran full-out down the corridor, breaking out into a small cavern. The light was so close! So temptingly close. One hundred meters and they'd be outside. Ninety, eighty, seventy, sixty, fifty, forty, thirty, twenty, ten five threetwoone. The early evening air struck Naruto around the face as he stepped outside into the cool breeze.

Raidou lay a hand upon his shoulder. "Let's not loiter here. Genma and I left out kit in a cave not far from here. In fact it's in a cavern in that mountain." He pointed, seemingly perplexed to the mountain face hardly more than a thousand meters away.

"You mean, we ran past this place on the way there?" Genma asked, staring back at the cavern in the ground and wondering how the hell he could have missed it.

******************************************************************

"Listen. If we just hide in this cave up here, when they come back we can ambush them!"

******************************************************************

"Right. It's this cave here, let's just get our stuff and go."

******************************************************************

"There they are."

****************************************************************

"What's wrong?"

****************************************************************

"Just below us."

******************************************************************

"Right above us."

*****************************************************************

"Now!"

*****************************************************************

There was no where to go but in, and now they were trapped. Sitting ducks. Naruto could see through the darkness the scratched out Cloud headbands. "Anti-Cloud." He muttered aloud. Raidou stirred beside him.

"There was a small group of Cloud ninja who defected because of the alliance with Konoha. Most of them have been hunted down and killed though."

The Cloud ninja made the first move.

The fight was short, fast and brutal. Even though they out-numbered the enemy by 50 percent, they were tired hungry and weak, whilst their opponents were strong and well rested.

Genma took a kunai to his leg and the outcome of the battle was decided. While the two Cloud nins were rejoicing over harming a Konoha nin, Naruto and Raidou slit their throats from behind, effectively ending the battle before it had even really begun.

The two men fell to the ground in slow motion and for what seemed like hours there was silence. Their heads both snapped up at the sound of Genma's pained whimper. In an instant both ninjas were beside the fallen man, Raidou removing the kunai from the would and Naruto sniffing at the bloodied fingers he had run over the stained pant leg.

"Hey, don't go drinking my blood Naruto!" Genma laughed at the boy's stunned look and even Raidou chuckled when he saw what the blonde was doing.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I was checking to see if you'd been poisoned actually. Doesn't seem like it thought. We should get you to Tsunade for a checkup anyway, just to be on the safe side." He rose to his feet and looked down at Genma laying on the ground. He glanced at Raidou who yawned, trying to hide his mouth with his hands.

"Is there any wood in here?"

Raidou shook his head after a quick glance around the cavern.

"Damn. Do you think you could go get some?"

Raidou nodded and moved to go but Genma stopped him. "Even if you do get wood you can't burn it in here, the light'll attract people for miles."

Both Raidou and Genma turned to look at Naruto who said, "I can put up a genjutsu which will compel people not to come near here."

Both ninja nodded and Raidou vanished into the night.

************************************************************************

"This does make things awkward."

"Well I'm sorry. I didn't ask to be stabbed did I?"

"Ah well, I'll carry you, it doesn't matter that much. Tsunade'll fix you."

Genma hit the blonde as he climbed onto the broad back, avoiding the gently swishing tails. "I'm not a broken toy, baka!"

Naruto laughed and set off out of the cave mouth, Raidou following shortly after the pair.

Raidou heard Naruto's laughter and couldn't help but wonder what the blonde felt for Genma. Was there any chance the long-haired ninja's feelings might be returned by the young man? He certainly hoped so. He'd had another chat with Genma last night after Naruto had fallen asleep and he had confessed to the man he no longer thought Naruto was the Kyuubi. It was now pretty obvious to him that he was not the demon fox. No demon fox would bandage a wound with so much care and splint it with two spare bits of wood to make sure if wouldn't be moved in the night.

Up ahead Genma laughed again and Raidou realized he was far behind the pair. He ran up alongside them and turned to Naruto.

"How fast can you go carrying him?" He indicated the brunette who scowled back.

Naruto shrugged. "We'll just have to see won't we. Set a pace you're comfortable with and I'll see if I can match it."

Raidou smirked. "Fine then." He took off at a sprint, Naruto easily keeping up. He grinned a the blonde and sped up fractionally. Logically he knew there was no way he'd be able to outrun the blonde kitsune, but he could sure as hell try.

******************************************************************

"Naruto, there was no way you could have done anything, you couldn't have known it was there." Raidou placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder and pushed him down into a seat, avoiding the violently flailing tails, the only sign, other than his silence, that he was concerned for the tokubetsu's safety.

Naruto sighed and put his head in his hands. "I should have known something was up. He was acting strangely all the way back here."

"Naruto, it was a tasteless, odorless poison. You wouldn't have been able to detect it. Lucky it was slow acting."

"No."

He turned to look at the blonde in confusion.

"He was just slow to show the symptoms. Who knows what damage it was inflicting on his body before he passed out. It wasn't slow acting in the slightest. If we hadn't got him back here when we did he may well have been dead by now." His heart lurched at the thought of Genma dying and a nauseous feeling curled in the bottom of his stomach. The same feeling he had noticed when Genma lost consciousness. Why did this man affect him so? He barely even knew him. Before he'd been captured they'd gone on one mission together and yet the tall tokubetsu was continually slipping into his thoughts as he lay in the empty cell. It was Genma he thought about when they tortured him, and Genma's name he screamed in his sleep. Genma who kept him sane. He glanced over at Raidou who was staring at the wall ahead of him, lost in his own thoughts. Is this what love feels like? He asked himself, the fear of loosing Genma increasing with every moment. Was this love? This pain and sorrow? Was he in love with Genma? Did he even know what love was? 


	8. Chapter 8

/"No, it's much more serious than that I'm afraid."

"Well what's wrong with him?"

"He's been poisoned."

"But- I- I checked his blood, there was no poison present."

"It's an odorless, tasteless poison that you wouldn't have been able to detect unless you'd seen the effects of it before."/

"Naruto."

He looked up sharply when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.

"She'll fix him, he'll be fine. After all, she was here healing people and extracting this poison from hundreds of ninja during the Konoha-Cloud war. She knows what she's doing."

Raidou removed his hand and smiled at the blonde who stared straight back at him, unblinking. After a moment he sighed and lowered his head, the grin vanishing from his face.

An awkward silence followed, broken only by the steps of medic-nins who walked through the almost deserted waiting room.

"Raidou?"

The older man looked up at Naruto who now had his eyes fixed on the floor between his feet.

"Is love supposed to hurt?"

"Is love supposed to hurt, Rai?"

"I don't know, I don't think so."

"Then why do I feel so much pain whenever I think about him?"

"Sometimes it does."

The silence stretched for another few minutes before Naruto spoke again.

"I don't even know if it is love. After all, I've never known what love is supposed to feel like. Is this love, this burning feeling in the pit of my stomach that feels like it's eating away at my insides. Is love supposed to make you sick with worry? Is love why I feel like killing myself every time I think Tsunade might not be able to save him?"

Raidou didn't answer straight away, instead he stayed staring at his own patch of floor, the blonde's questions running over and over in his mind. How could the boy have never known love? Did no one ever tell him about love and emotions? "Love is different for everyone, after all, it is a very personal emotion and ties very closely to the sort of person you are."

Naruto sighed and his stomach clenched again. "I love him Raidou. I love him. How can I love someone when I don't even know what love is?"

"You do know, you just haven't come across this particular form of love yet. When the time comes, just do what feels right."

*********************************************

It was nearly dawn. The sun was rising over the distant hills, casting shadows across the landscape. The insistent beeping still echoing in his head as he stood before the Kia stone. He'd seen Genma and almost wished he hadn't. His heart ached at the memory of him hooked up to all those machines. He'd only been in there for a few minutes, but the entire time his eyes had been flickering from Genma's relaxed face to the beeping machine by his bedside recording his heart beats. He still wasn't safe. They'd pulled him out of the danger zone for now, but the poison spread further than they had anticipated. He realized Genma's name might very soon be on this very stone he was staring at.

"I don't ever want to see your name on here. I pray I don't live long enough to see it engraved."

"One day, you'll come to terms with the fact that you may well see your friends' names on here."

He looked up at his silver-haired former sensei.

"Even so, I already know I can't live without him. If his name is put on here, I want mine put beside it." He turned and walked away, Kakashi's hand he hadn't even noticed, falling from his shoulder. Just before he left the clearing he glanced back and saw the older man crouched in front of the stone, running his fingers over one of the names. He felt slightly lighter knowing Kakashi knew how he felt.

He spent a few hours ambling about the training grounds, familiarizing himself, once again, with the layout of Konoha. He visited his once favorite haunts and as the village came to life he found himself on his swing outside the academy.

"Naruto?"

He glanced up and muttered a soft greeting to the pink-haired women who offered him a hand and pulled him to his feet.

"You want to go get some ramen?"

Truthfully he didn't want to eat anything much, but his stomach betrayed him by rumbling loudly in the silence. Evidently he still couldn't resist ramen. "Guess so."

The pair of them made their way through the awakening village, ignoring the hisses and insults thrown at Naruto from shinobi and villager alike.

Outwardly, Naruto was showing no response to the taunts, but inwardly he was in turmoil. Did everyone still think of him this way? Did Genma think of him as the demon? Raidou certainly had. Did he influence Genma? He bit back a sob that threatened to escape him. Did he really have no chance at all?

He sat down solemnly at Ichiraku Ramen and ordered a bowl of pork ramen, avoiding looking at the pink-haired kunochi next to him. Nothing had changed. Nothing at all. They still hated him and deep inside he knew that would never change. After all, they needed their scapegoat and who better to place all their troubles on than the nine-tailed demon fox?

The steaming bowl was placed in front of him and he broke the chopsticks apart, whispering the ritual word under his breath. Beside him he heard Sakura do the same.

"Where did you go?"

Naruto shook his head and took a bite of the pork floating in the soup.

"Well how did you end up with these tails? And the ears?"

Again he shook his head and she sighed.

"Well if you won't tell me then tell the others. Eat your ramen then come see everyone else, I'm sure they're dying to see you again."

****************************************************

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late, but I bumped into someone this morning you might be interested in."

Twelve pairs of eyes were suddenly fixed on him and he began to feel very self concious. His tails twitched slightly as he met Akamaru's gaze and unconsciously challenged the huge dog.

"N-n-naruto-k-kun?"

As soon as he looked at her she looked away, poking her fingers together in a way he now recognized as nervousness and embarrassment.

"Shit man! What the hell happened to you? You anger a fox spirit or summat?"

Kiba looked no different. Still tall and brawny with the red triangles down his cheeks.

"No, I was captured near to the Hidden Village of Rock by a group of people who wanted to harness the power of the demon inside me." Short and sweet. It did avoid telling them the whole story in all it's graphic details he decided.

"You have a demon inside you?"

Everyone turned to Ino who stared back fiercely.

"How many people knew that?"

Only Sakura and Shikamaru raised their hands.

"I worked it out years ago. " Said Shikamaru as he gazed up at the clouds. "If you look at his birthday and resemblance to the Yondaime it's not exactly hard to work out."

"I've known this that mission we had with Yamato-taichou to meet the Akatsuki spy."

Ino's eyes widened as she visibly counted the twitching tails around the silent blonde. "Kyuubi," she whispered. "Why aren't you dead?" Her voice rose with each word until she was screaming at Naruto across the short distance between them. "You should be! You should have been killed at birth!" Shem turned and stormed out of the clearing without so much as a backward glance.

"You. You're the reason I have no family. You're the reason my parents are dead!"

He'd always thought Tenten to be rather mild, but as he watched her storm off after Ino he decided he had underestimated her.

There was silence in the clearing as no one moved, each going over the accusations in their mind. Kiba was the first of the remaining ten to leave, taking Akamaru with him, he too, deserted Naruto without a second glance. Then Chouji, the large boy apologizing softly before he too left. Neji. The one he had rescued from his own fate disappeared from his life. The one that surprised him most however, was Lee. The young man made no sound, just went without any of his usual sparkling teeth or loud speeches.

He looked around when no one else seemed about to bolt.

Five. Shino, Hinata, Sai, Sakura and Shikamaru. His family shrank once more and for the first time in a lone while, he felt truly alone. 


	9. Chapter 9

"Come on Tsunade, please. It would be the perfect opportunity, it's the perfect mission for them, and there's a storm headed over there."

Tsunade's delicate eyebrow rose as she looked at the scarred tokubetsu jounin standing in her office. "Perhaps you're right. I do want to see them both happy, especially Naruto. The villagers are giving him a hard time gain, and it would be god for him to be close to someone he could relate to. Someone he had to live for."

**********************************

Remind me again why I am doing this?" Genma glared at the unidentified sharp plant which had left a bleeding gash on his arm.

"Because not even Tsunade's sadistic enough to make gennin weed a patch untouched for probably several hundred years. Especially one with plants like that." Naruto motioned to the spiky green weed Genma was trying to hack out of the ground with his kunai. "She probably didn't want to put you in any overly dangerous situation until she's sure you're completely healed.

"Comp- completely healed?! You were there when she took the bandages off, there isn't even a scar!"

Naruto fought the blush that threatened to take over his face and busied himself with something fluffy and harmless looking. "She just wants to check that there's no lasting effects from the poison." Truthfully, some part of his brain wanted the older man to fall foul to the poison just so he could see him in his underwear again. The flush spread across his cheeks as he fought with the 'fluffy' plant which turned out to be covered in millions and millions of tiny spines. "Fucking cactus wannabe," he hissed under his breath as it evaded him again. Genma's skin was flawless, all the same pale creamy color without a scar in sight. Long lean muscled legs he longed to run hi-

"Hey Naruto, you ok? You're looking a bit flushed."

"I- I... I'm ok, I'm fine, just a bit hot, very hot... You're hot, I certainly am."

Genma blinked for a second but then shrugged it off, going back to his own battle with the garden from hell. For a brief moment he was sure Naruto had called him hot. He chalked it up to wishful thinking.

A few meters away Naruto was mentally slapping himself. 'I did not just say he was hot, I did not just say he was hot, I did not -'

'Oh but he is,' a second voice appeared in his head.

'But it's not the sort of thing to say straight to his face!'

'Why not? He might appreciate it.'

'Aaaaarg! Shut up!'

'Your loss, you need to get laid.'

For a second he thought it sounded like the Kyuubi and he felt a momentary pang of sadness for the lack of his once companion before he brushed it off and went back to weeding.

*****************************************

"Aah! Shit!"

Naruto jumped as the peaceful tranquil moment was ruined by Genma's curses. he decided it was worth it when he turned around and saw the older man fall over with a crash whilst trying to disentangle a bramble-like weed from around his ankle. When he heard a scream a second later all humor left the situation and he was beside the other man in an instant.

"Genma?"

All he got in response was a high pitched whine.

Genma's entire attention was upon a brightly colored grass snake he had uncovered, still miraculously asleep.

"It's a snake."

"Get rid of it!"

"Genma, it's a grass snake. They're harmless unless you happen to be a mouse."

"Oh... I knew that." He scrambled to his feet, still as far away from the snake as possible, just in case. Whatever clingy plant he had around his legs tightened it's grasp and he fell flat on his face once again.

Naruto knelt down beside the brunette and sliced through the vine easily with his kunai. "Your kunai must be incredibly blunt if it can't cut plants." He picked up the weapon Genma had dropped and ran a finger down the side of it. Not even a scratch. "Holy fuck. What have you done to this? Played darts with it?" He laughed when the older man tried to defend himself and failed miserably.

The pair of them lay on the patch of ground they'd cleared, facing into the bright cloudless sky, Naruto's hand over his eyes to protect them from the glare. He would have shut them like Genma had done, was it not for the fact he was sneaking peeks at the jounin from between his fingers.

"Oi, Naru, you wanna go find some food?"

"Yea alright."

Genma jumped to his feet, avoiding the vine laying innocently on the ground before giving the much more sluggish Naruto a hand up.

"Did you call me Naru?" He grabbed Genma's hand fighting the blush which again threatened to take over his entire body and allowed the other man to pull him upright.

"Couldn't be bothered to say your entire name." He let go of Naruto's hand and laughed as the blonde stood there and yawned. "Lazy today aren't we."

Naruto blew a raspberry at his superior. "I was almost asleep a moment ago."

"Aww, does ikkle Naru-chan need a nap?" He set off back to their camp only to stop a few meters away when he felt the killer intent rolling off Naruto.

"If you ever do that again, I'll... I'll... Do something horrible to you that I'll think of later."

"That was the lamest threat ever."

****************************************************

"I was joking you know."

The first thing Naruto saw when he awoke was Genma sitting next to him, stoking a fire in the twilight.

"Uh?" He said unintelligently, rubbing sleep from his eyes and sitting up. The bubble of warmth left him instantly. He glanced down at the blanket which had fallen off him and wrapped it around himself as he stood. "Why didn't you get my blanket?"

"You can tell just by glancing at it whose it is?" Genma looked up in surprise.

"Nah, it smells like you." He flushed scarlet the moment he realized what he'd said. "Not in a bad way, I'm not saying you smell or anything, it's just the fox's sense of smelly and well, everyone smells, not saying that's a bad thing, I'm just gonna shut up now." He sat down next to Genma who was obviously trying not to laugh.

"Shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking it."

The birds in the surrounding trees all called out to one another as they returned to their roosts for the night. he heard a snake and several small rodents moving around in the forest and saw the setting sun catch on what must be the pond in the center of the garden they were excavating. He could hear Genma's soft breathing next to him, in fact they were so close he could hear the other man's heartbeat.

"I'm curious now. What do I smell of?"

Naruto blinked at the unexpected question and thought about sniffing Genma but then remembered he was wearing the older man's blanket. Instead it brought the blanket up to his face and sniffed it, the intoxicating scent filling his lungs.

"Cinnamon," he finally declared. "With a faint scent of antiseptic, but that's probably from the hospital."

"Can you smell emotions too, like dogs can?"

"Dogs can smell emotions?"

"Never mind."

*************************************************

"This is actually ridiculous! Do you have any idea how long it's taken us to get this far?"

"It's taken two weeks, why d'you think that we were given a month?"

"Why are we doing the Rainbow village's gardening for them anyway?"

"Because they're low on shinobi and its a sign of good will between villages."

"Ugh! Why us? Why not a couple of chuunin?"

"Y'know, I would never have imagined you to be this noisy when I met you nine years ago."

Genma opened his mouth to retort, but instead he came out with a much softer question. "It was that long ago? I remember that tournament like it was yesterday."

"I'm sure most people do. Half the village was destroyed, we were over-run with snakes on steroids, had a mini war with Sound, two demons emerged and the Sandaime died. Pretty memorable day."

"Many people died that day. I still can't get used to it being so silent at night on missions."

"I'll snore if it makes you feel better."

Genma let out a choked laugh. "I remember throwing sticks at Hayate all night to try and make him shut up. It's a wonder he lived as long as he did. Bloody insomniac never let me sleep, kept me awake all night with his infernal coughing."

"Wasn't he one of our examiners?"

"Yea."

"Most of us were wondering what happened to him."

"Most of you?"

"Yea. Sasuke just didn't give a shit, and Neji was just, well, Neji."

"You did a good job on him. Even if your skills had lacked, that alone should have got you your promotion."

"Huh?"

"That sort of skill is a very powerful political advantage. You were able to change the mind of a Hyuuga, and from what I heard, you taught a bloodthirsty demon to love."

"Yea. Is he still Kazekage?"

"Still is and will be for a long time's my guess."

"I felt really bitter when I found out he'd made Kazekage and I was still a gennin. I've begun to think that perhaps I don't deserve to he Hokage. After all, if I can't save the one I called my brother, how am I supposed to save a whole village, especially when they all hate me?"

"They don't all hate you. What about your Rookie Nine? You always seemed close to them."

"I don't think the Rookie Nine can ever be referred to as one body anymore. When they found out I was a demon, all but five deserted me."

"What about Team Gai?"

"They were among those who left."

"Kakashi likes you."

"Kakashi? He always used to tell me I was annoying and useless."

"Kakashi doesn't really know how to act around people. Ever since he was born, he's been a social outcast, but after he took on you three, he began to open up and spend more time with us. He's another person you've changed even if you didn't realize it."

"That's six people in a village of thousands. Besides, all the council hate me. There's no way-"

"No, there's only six you know of. If you went for Hokage, I'd support you, as would Raidou."

"Eight."

"Gai, Ebisu-"

"Ebisu? He hates me!"

"He doesn't. After he saw what you did for Konohamaru, he began to respect you as both a ninja and a natural leader."

"A natural leader?"

"Uhuh. You did what no one had ever done before, and treated Konohamaru as a person, not as the Hokage's grandson, and that's why he listened to you. Sasuke respected you-"

"No he didn't! He-"

"Sasuke respected you because you saw past his name and tried to find out what sort of person Sasuke was, not what sort of person the Uchiha was, which was what all his fangirls were trying to do."

"Fine, eleven, and a traitor."

"Konohamaru's friends."

"Thirteen."

"Iruka, Kotetsu and Izumo. Kurenai may, but from what I've heard she's never expressed an opinion on you."

"Sixteen, a maybe and a traitor. Great odds."

"What about Tsunade? She gave you that necklace. Despite what she says about you, that neclace was given to the Shodaime when he became Hokage, it's almost proclaiming you the Sixth. Or Seventh, whenever Tsunade gets fed up with the paperwork. I hope it's soon, I'm fed up with being used as a messenger bird." He smiled as Naruto laughed at him. "Seriously though, I'm sure it's you she'd much rather hand her title to than anyone else. After all, you are one of the strongest ninja in Konoha."

"Thanks, but I am still only a Gennin."

"Wouldn't worry. I was seventeen before I finally made Chuunin. I kept fucking up the exam. After my third try I gave up until I felt ready."

Naruto glared at the Jounin who had suddenly stopped making him feel better. "I'm twenty one, and still a Gennin."

Genma grinned sheepishly.

*****************************************

"This is fucking ridiculous! Are we still not done?"

Genma laughed. "Yesterday you were complaining I was too noisy."

"It's your fault you know."

Genma stepped back to avoid the accusatory finger which almost took his eye out. "How so?"

"You keep talking to me."

Genma snorted. "That's a crap excuse, bit it you feel that way I'll stop talking to you."

"You do that."

"I will."

"Fine."

Five minutes later he wasn't sure it was such a great idea. He was beginning to miss Genma's witty humor as a deceptively innocent thorn suddenly bit his finger.

"Ge~en. I'm bo~ored!"

"How old are you again?"

"Three. This horrible plant bit me again."

"Want me to kiss it better?"

"Would you?"

"Depends where it bit you."

"My finger. " He gave his best kicked puppy look to Genma and held out his scratched hand.

Genma laughed but took the blonde's hand and kissed the barely injured finger gently. He looked up and his own cheeks began to light up in sympathy of the flush over Naruto's. He found himself staring into the blue orbs, hypnotized by the sparkling innocence they held. He was so close, if he just lent forwards a fraction he could- He mentally hit himself and let go of Naruto's hand, coughing slightly as though to clear his throat.

"yea," Naruto said awkwardly and went back to his own weeds.

****************************************************

The end of the month found Naruto and Genma sitting side by side on the hill they were camping on, watching Naruto's kage bushins fight with the few remaining weeds. The garden was magnificent. It was circular with a pond in the center and a fountain which had been installed the day before. There were water channels which ran down the garden, imitating miniature rivers alongside white sand paths guarded by ankle-height hedges. The paths and rivers had been done a week ago, after they had managed to fight back the weeds enough to work, and Tenzou had appeared a few days after they were completed to create the hedges. Genma had been fascinated, having never seen the technique being used before, only the effect it had, ie, the forest on top of the building next to the stadium. Tenzou had promised to show Genma the extent of his technique some other time as he was actually on a mission but had been sent off a day early so as to make the short detour.

"We can go home tomorrow." Genma yawned and stretched, his joints popping as he lay down.

Naruto laughed at him. "Getting old?"

"Nah, still got another two years before I can be classed as old."

He laughed again. "What'll you be then, ninety?" He dodged the rather half-hearted senbon in his direction.

"Shut up pipsqueak! I've got a long way to go before I'm ninety. I expect I won't live that long anyway. I was quite surprised I lived to see thirty actually, especially after going through ANBU."

"You were in ANBU?"

"Yea. I was with Raidou. I was Hawk and he was Raven. I still wonder if he named himself after his summons, or if he decided to summon ravens because he was the Raven."

"Why don't you ask him?"

"He doesn't like to talk about and of it, it was his last ANBU mission he got his scars."

"How'd he get them? I thought it would be a bit impolite to ask him."

"He jumped in front of a fire jutsu I was standing in the way of." His laugh sounded fake and pained. "I told him he should have left me and let me burn when I saw the state he was in and he said the next time he would. He eventually spoke to me again three months later when, ironically, we were in much the same position. I was fighting someone and couldn't really move out of the way, but I caught sight of him out of the corner of my eye, and I actually thought he was going to let me burn, just like he'd said. I actually thought I was going to die when he jumped down beside me and put it out. Turned out he'd learned a water jutsu just for me."

"Sounds like he fancies you." He laughed nervously.

"Raidou? Hell no, I annoy him too much. Nah, he's stalking Iruka."

He tried not to let his relief show. "Are all ninja gay?"

Genma snorted. "Sakura asked me that once when she asked out Izumo. Kotetsu looked as though he wanted to knock her brains out. Most of us are yea."

"I wonder why. Is there a lack of kunochi or something?"

"I think it's because, yes there are so few female ninja, but also because we don't really want to date the villagers because they don't really understand the dangers of being a ninja. It's also hard to raise a family if you know you may die any day."

There was silence for a while as both watched the clones tidy up and begin to plant grass seeds.

"Why do we always talk about really depressing stuff?"

Genma looked at him for a second before he answered. "I suppose it's just who we are. We're exposed to the darker side of like so we talk about it to let it out of our systems."

"Do you have an answer to everything?"

"Pretty much."

*****************************************************

"Uh, Gen?"

"Hm?" Genma stopped walking and turned around, looking to see what Naruto was pointing at. "Well shit."

The perfectly blue sky was being rapidly swallowed up by a fearsome black cloud which promised rain, and lots of it. "This feels familiar."

"It does?"

"It was raining when me and Raidou got captured. If we can outrun this we'll be fine. Let's search for some shelter."

"Hang on."

Genma turned to see Naruto jogging towards a small group of thickly boughed trees. When he caught up the blonde had a scroll spread out on the needle-strewn ground. "You're not planning on pitching a tent under a pine tree are you? It's impossible to get the sap out of the canvas."

"Even I'm not that stupid Genma." He bit his thumb and slammed his hand into the scroll. Within seconds the pair were surrounded by twelve foxes of varying size and color.

Genma heard Naruto bark at them and they vanished. He raised an eyebrow at the blonde.

"They've gone to find us some shelter. They're all to be back here in ten."

Those ten minutes were the longest of his life. Even the dense canopy of pine needles didn't save them from the veritable flood which came down on them. He briefly wondered what god he had angered to be caught in rain two missions in a row. At least with Raidou he had been moving, whereas now he was simply sitting under a tree, the water running down the inside of his flak jacket and soaking his shirt.

"You're like a human radiator, Gen."

"What?"

"I can feel you giving off heat from here."

"That's because you've got creepy hyper senses."

"My 'creepy hyper senses' don't detect heat Gen, you're just a natural radiator."

"Everyone gives off a certain amount of heat." He held a hand up next to Naruto to prove his point. "Holy fuck you're freezing!"

"Thanks." He said sarcastically as the first fox bounded up to him, soaking wet. The other eleven soon followed. Three of them had found shelter and they eventually decided to go with the completely red fox's discovery; a spacious cave with a small opening in the lea of an over hanging rock.

The pair of them set off as fast as they could, following the fox after the others had been dismissed. The journey only took three minutes, but by the end of it they felt like they'd just spent an hour in the shower, fully dressed.

The cave was just as they were promised, and Naruto dismissed the remaining fox, poking his head into the entrance. The small tunnel led into a large cavern, and then into a much smaller alcove. He crawled through, followed by Genma and both stood up looking around.

"We can sleep back there if we take our clothes off and hand them up in here."

"Sleep where?"

"Back there."

"Where's there? Hang on, can you see in the dark?"

Naruto's sheepish look was lost on Genma who glowered at the blonde.

"I've got a lantern in my bag if you can find it."

"Is there anything in here I really don't want to know about?"

Genma snorted as he helped get the pack off his shoulders. "Dirty boxers and probably a tube of lube."

"Ewww!" Naruto stuck his tongue out very immaturely and dug around in the bag. True to the older man's word, he did indeed find a small tube of lubricant.

"You do realize this expired three years ago?" He said, holding the small tube in his hand.

"Lube can expire?"

"Cherry flavored can."

"I have cherry favored lube?"

"So it appears." He groped around a bit more until he found something lantern shaped and handed it to the other man to turn on.

"Um, there should be a bottle of oil in there as well."

Naruto sighed and delved back into the bag again, emerging with a bottle labeled 'lamp oil' in a very untidy scrawl. He stifled a laugh. "You have the most appalling handwriting I've ever see Gen, and I know Kakashi."

"Hey! I wrote that with my left hand."

"Why?"

"My right was in a cast. Some evil bastard thought it was amusing to break my fingers."

Naruto winced and handed the bottle to the jounin. There was a clatter, a soft curse, a pouring sound, the scent of some sort of herb and a small katon jutsu before the cavern lit up. He watched Genma bend down to pick up the lid he had obviously dropped and shove the oil back into his pack.

"We're sleeping back there? Ever heard of personal space?"

"I'm stealing your body heat." He turned away to pull off his soaking clothes and hide the flush he could feel covering his cheeks.

"Thief," Genma muttered teasingly before shedding his clothes and dragging the blanket out of his bag. "Thank Hokage for waterproofing jutsus."

Naruto laughed and dragged a blanket from his own pack. "D'you think they care whose blanket you've got? Coz I've still got yours if you wanted it back."

Genma grinned. "I don't think they care. You can keep it if you want, I can't smell your most probably ramen-scented one."

Naruto attempted to look affronted. "My blanket does not small of ramen. If it did I'd be starving all night."

****************************************

He shivered and scooted closer to the warmth beside him, throwing a tail around what he didn't recognize to be a body. A second later he opened his eyes and found himself almost nose to nose with the object of his affections. He suddenly felt far too hot beneath the blankets. Genma didn't seem to have woken up, despite all his faffing around, his breathing was still even and deep as it should be. He shifted a bit closer, gaging the tokubetsu's response as he did so, until he was close enough to kiss the man. He could smell the distinctive scent of musky cinnamon. The scent of antiseptic had gone completely, leaving the alluring cinnamon musk he was quickly becoming addicted to. He wondered if he tasted of cinnamon as well. He could do it, he wouldn't even have to move far, he was so close he could feel the other's breath on him. A couple of centimeters would be all. Before the rational part of his brain could comprehend what he was doing, he had crossed the gap and kissed the man's surprisingly soft lips. He felt rather than heard Genma's breath hitch and jumped backwards in time to see the dark eyes slide open sleepily.

"Fuck, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I- I- I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that." He scooted backwards as Genma sat up, bracing himself for what he thought would be a slow and painful death on the end of the tokubetsu's blunt kunai. Instead he felt a finger under his chin, forcing his head up. He could feel Genma's breath on his face and didn't dare open his eyes, sure of the rejection and disgust he would see in the dark orbs. Something soft brushed over his lips and he jumped slightly, drawing in a sharp breath before his mouth was suddenly full of Genma's tongue. For a second he was too stunned to react, but as soon as his brain caught up with his body he relaxed into the older man's arms and initiated an oral battle of dominance. Neither won before the need for oxygen forced them apart.

"Dammit Naruto, I love you. I was so worried when you disappeared, I thought I'd never be able to tell you."

"I love you too Gen. Promise you won't abandon me like everyone else."

"I promise."

He tasted of almonds. 


	10. Epilogue

He'd done it! He'd made Jounin. Three months after his mission with Genma he'd completed the Jounin exam in Sand and passed with flying colors and a recommendation for ANBU or the Hunters. All question of future ranks was put out of his mind as Iruka tried to squeeze the air out of him. It amazed him to no end how the Chuunin could both congratulate him and scold him for giving him another reason to worry for his safety.

Tsunade managed to pry Iruka off the newly appointed Jounin to give him his new jacket which he pulled on over his black t-shirt with a grin. They both had a laugh at Raidou's expense, the tokubetsu trying to engage Iruka in conversation to keep him away from the blonde.

"Even you're a higher than than us now."

He turned to see Izumo and Kotetsu grinning at him.

"Congratulations. Pretty soon we're going to be the only Chuunin left."

"I was never a Chuunin."

Kotetsu clapped him on the shoulder. "You were an honorary one even if you didn't know it." The three of them laughed.

"Here, I can write neatly!"

He turned to catch the scroll Genma threw at him and unfurled it, finding the mission report in, believe it or not, immaculate handwriting.

"You haven't given that in yet?" He threw it back to the brunette who caught it and set it on the Hokage's desk.

"I was too busy wondering if you were going to live through the exams so be bothered with filing reports for fucking D-rank missions."

"Aaaw, you were worried about me, how sweet. And there is no way in hell that was a D-rank mission. Those plants were worse than bloody missing-nins!"

"I remember what those two and a half months in hell were like, I had a right to be worried, and no, it was C-rank."

"Congratulations Naruto, I hear you've been recommended for ANBU."

"Thanks. I thought that was supposed to be confidential."

"The walls have ears Naruto-kun, remember that."

Naruto turned to Genma as Kakashi slouched off. "The walls have ears? What the fuck? Has he finally lost it completely?

Genma laughed and stuck his hands into his pockets. "I think he lost it years ago, if indeed he ever had it in the first place." He lent in closer to Naruto and whispered in his ear, "can I talk to you outside?"

Naruto nodded, curious and allowed himself to be led into a small ornate water garden he had never seen before. His attention was immediately grabbed by the sparkling multi-tier fountain in the middle which looked to be made of diamond.

"Uzumaki Naruto,"

He turned around to find Genma down on one knee in front of him, a golden band in one hand. His breath caught in his chest.

"The love of my life, will you make me the happiest man alive and do me the honor of marrying me?"

"Genma," he whispered to the kneeling man. "Yes. Yes!" 


End file.
